6of6The basement holds a large collection, which the business plans to consolidate in its other store.Photo: Shwanika Narayan / The Chronicle

Will Orinion, 41, a tourist from Riverside, was strolling down Green Street in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood when he came upon a common sight: a sale and store closing sign announcing “Everything Must Go!”

A record store staple in the neighborhood, 101 Music, is closing its second location on 513 Green St. after 24 years in business. Less than a block away, its first location on Grant Ave., there since 1985, is staying open.

“This location (Green Street) has become a glorified warehouse,” said longtime employee Christian Jung. “We have up to five customers that come in on a day-to-day basis and most leave without buying anything.”

The two-story store holds an assortment of vintage electronics, music instruments and around 50,000 vinyl records in its basement. Despite what it has to offer, the shop has struggled to bring in customers as the rising preference for online shopping and other nearby vacant storefronts have hurt foot traffic.

Rent was not a factor, said Jung, who’s worked there for a total of nine years. “It’s quite reasonable, but that can’t make up for lack of sales. We can’t just keep losing money,” Jung said. He declined to give the rent figure.

Retail vacancies in North Beach doubled to 10.5 percent in 2018 over a three-year period, according to a study by the North Beach Business Association, Telegraph Hill Dwellers and North Beach Neighbors.

Other businesses in the vicinity of 101 Music have permanently or temporarily closed for seismic retrofits, said Danny Sauter, president of North Beach Neighbors.

“The area along Grant Avenue and Green Street has had a number of other closures so the foot traffic is likely down,” he said.

A local attraction, 101 Music largely attracted tourists and music fans over the years. The two core customer types are buying less, Jung said.

“The music crowd isn’t really here anymore, and tourists like to browse without buying,” he said.

Orinion, the visitor from Riverside, stopped by after touring Coit Tower nearby. He said he played and listened to music but was unlikely to buy anything as he had a flight to catch in a few hours.

Jung said he hoped to keep the Green Street store open until the summer but might need to close sooner. The business has four employees in total.

Shwanika Narayan is a business reporter at The San Francisco Chronicle where she covers retail and logistics. She was previously a reporter with the Los Angeles Business Journal where she wrote about manufacturing, retail and trade. Prior to that, she worked as a freelance video producer at AJ+ covering general news, her freelance work also includes writing for NBC News, Quartz and Hyphen magazine on Asian American identity. Shwanika has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia Journalism School and a bachelor’s degree in political science from UCLA.